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I RESOURCES, 
PEOPLE, 



■ 



STATEHOOD. 



BY 



FRANK S. CHILD. 



F 

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NEW YORK. 
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY. 



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Price 25 Cents. 



p 656 
.C53 
Copy i 





SOUTH DAKOTA 



Resources— People— Statehood, 



THE GLEANINGS OF A JOURNEY THROUGH 
THE TERRITORY 



-BY- 



FRANK S. CHILD. 






NEW YORK : 
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY. 

MDCCCLXXXVIII. 






In Eitch» 
Wis. Hi«t.So«» 






CONTENTS. 



I. Country, Page 5 

II. Resources, ...,-- 16 

III. People, 27 

IV. Cities, 42 

V. Statehood, S3 

VI. Conclusion, 65 



Copyrighted 1S88, 
By Fra^'k S. Child. 



THE COUNTRY. 

We were reading with keen interest speeches and 
narratives that concerned Dakota. The work or the 
play of Congress seemed a thing of mockery and 
humiliation. Then it occurred to us that we turn us 
Dakota- ward and spy out the land. We would 
measure for ourselves the worth and promise of the 
Territory. We would set the words of friends over 
againsc the words of foes, and then pronounce upon 
them by the aid of such knowledge as we could gle§in 
through personal investigation. The heralded pros- 
perity of Dakota interested us. The throwing open to 
settlers a share of the Sioux Reservation interested us. 
The earnest, persistent struggle for Statehood interested 
us. So we hastened to the Dakota land. 

We found Dakota. It is emphatically a " findable " 
country. The immensity of its landscape appalled us. 
The extreme north insists that four hundred and thirty 
miles shall mark the distance from the extreme south. 
The east is separated from the west by three hundred 
and eighty-five miles. The area of Dakota is one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand nine hundred and thirty-two 
square miles, or ninety-six million five hundred and 
ninety-six thousand four hundred and eighty acres. 



d South Dakota : 

That means that you can pack all New England, Ohio, 
New York into Dakota and then take some eight or 
ten Districts of Columbia and fill in the chinks. When 
we faced this fact, necessity forced us to restrict our 
observations to South Dakota. And this task proved 
too large for us. The Black Hills were not visited 
and many parts of the land were " done " with un- 
satisfactory haste. 

South Dakota alone is text for endless discourse. It 
is like putting out to sea, this pressing one's way 
through the billowy vastness of the illimitable prairies- 
Gentle undulations break the monotony of the land. 
Luxuriant grasses, glistening grains — they make their 
swift and graceful responses as the winds touch them 
with the impulse of summer. The distant smoke 
which hovers near the horizon for a time and then dis 
appears in the cloudless sky, seems like the welcome 
witness to some approaching steamer. Wave upon 
wave makes tumultuous way towards us. The very 
song of the winds has the tone of the sea gale. But the 
delusion vanishes. Occasional farm houses, herds of 
cattle, conspicnous school buildings, barns and stacks 
of produce, they remind the traveler that it is a home 
land through which he makes his I'ourney. When we 
pierce these great, productive sections, and drive miles 
upon miles through the gleaming fields, we forget that 
trees neither give us shade nor adorn the landscape. 
The splendor and opulence of growing grains fill the 
mind with such large thoughts of harvests that trees 



Its Resources and its People. 1 

and hills and villages are forgot. They would obstruct 
the boundlessness of prospect and the vision of riches. 
Now what kind of soil is it that gives such bounty to 
the Dakota farmer? The question led the National 
Department of Agriculture to subject samples of soil to 
careful analysis. The chemist gives us the result of his 
study and this result may be popularized in these 
terms : First characteristic, Dakota soil has remark- 
able adaptability for imbibing and retaining moisture. 
Second characteristic, Dakota soil contains large 
quantities of silica in a soluble state, and is therefore 
especially favorable to the raising of cereal crops. 
Third characteristic, the percentage of clay makes the 
soil the best of wheat soil, since clay supplies potash 
and absorbs and retains phosphoric acid, ammonia, 
potash, lime and other plant foods. Fourth charac- 
teristic, the soil carries an abundance of phosphoric 
acid. Fifth characteristic, the soil holds a large amount 
of nitrogen. Sixth characteristic, the soil shows a good 
percentage of organic matter ; this not only increases 
the water holding power and enables Dakota to stand 
long droughts unharmed, but it also furnishes necessary 
food supply to vegetation. Dakota is surfaced by a 
rich, dark, alluvial loam with varying depths. Under- 
neath is a valuable clay subsoil. The supply of soil 
constituents is inexhaustible. Sand and clay are 
mingled according to those right proportions that make 
the soil swift to absorb the rainfall and easy to undergo 
pulverization. The subsoil is not less fertile than the 



8 South Dakota : 

top soil. Winter frost and spring warmth operate to 
the perpetual fertilization of the upper soil. This deep 
imprisoned moisture carries a burden of helpful con- 
stituents when it works its slow way to the surface. 
" This soil is something wonderful, " says the editor of 
the United States Medical Investigator. " Nature has 
pursued a conservative course toward Dakota, enabling 
her to hoard her wealth. * ^ ^ There is 
no region that I know of with so generally rich a soil.'' 
The fertility of the land bases the prosperity of Dakota. 
That portion of the Territory east of the Missouri, and 
south of the forty -sixth parallel, is under general culti- 
vation. The smoothness of the landscape is sometimes 
broken by ranges of low hills, or the coursings of rivers, 
or the bright surface of small lakes. The mirage 
plays many a trick with the traveler. Some far away 
town seems builded upon the shores of the broad lake. 
And the water is high, for the very buildings seem 
floating upon the surface. But one draws nigh the 
town and the waters vanish in the clouds. 

When one has familiarized himself with the land, 
yielded to the quiet fascination of the mighty prairies^ 
measured the productiveness of these smooth, rich acres, 
counted the days of sunshine, drunk deep draughts of 
the invigorating air, then one pardons the treeless 
aspect of the countr}^ and one regards with leniency 
the busy play of the winds. At the same time any 
small discontent that may suggest itself is tempered 
and assuaged by the conviction that a change in these 



Its Resourses and its People. p 

respects already marks the lower part of the Territory 
and such change will gradually extend through the 
central portion of the land. The success which marks 
tree culture in Kansas, Nebraska and the Yankton 
district of Dakota indicates what time and work may 
do for other portions of the prairie country. And 
when the trees are grown, the winds will meet with 
perpetual resistance and discouragement, while rain 
will get such gentle wooing that Dakota will receive 
the unstinted irrigation of the clouds. Well-tilled 
lands, frequent groves, multiplied settlements, concen- 
trated enterprises will soon convert Dakota into a 
mighty empire. 

The climate itself will prove the ally of prosperity. 
Portions of this middle west are scourged by hot south 
winds. We were touched by them as we journeyed 
some hundreds of miles down the interior. They sweep 
over the plains with irresistible fury. They wither and 
scorch the harvests. They plague and discourage the 
farmer. But these winds have lost their riotous vicious- 
ness when they skim the Dakota fields. Their long 
journeys have robbed them of the power to injure. And 
when the evening comes they rest with the sun and 
give people, harvests, cattle cool, restful nights. 

Dakota lies in the same latitude as several of the 
great rival States of the Union. Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
Iowa, New York, they range with Dakota. The 
isothermal line is an imaginary line passing through 
sections that have the same mean annual temperature. 



10 



South Dakota : 



This line goes westward from Harrisburg, Cleveland 
and Chicago, and then diverges northward through 
St. Paul, passing along the upper part of Dakota- 
Scientific observers tell us that the entire northwest is 
tempered by the "Chinook winds " which travel from 
the Indian ocean through China and Japan across the 
Pacific into Washington, Montana, Dakota and con- 
tiguous States. 

The air is dry and freighted with ozone. Through 
the winter the thermometer occasionally marks 40 
deg. below zero, but such cold is exceptional, and its 
severity is mitigated by the absence of humidity. 
Here is a table showing the monthly and annual mean 
temperature for fifteen years, of Dakota, Minnesota, 
New Hampshire. The cold average favors Dakota 
— a fact that is surprising and suggestive: 





u 
05 

S 

d 






'u 


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>. 


M 

3 

be 


u 


1 


a 


1 

a 


1 

a 

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►-5 




g 


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•-3 






CO 


o 
O 


o 


0) 


S 




O O 


o 


o 


o o 


o 


o 


o 


o 1 o 


o 1 o 


Dakota 


6.8 12.9 


24.2 


42.5 


56 7 65.8 


71.8 


69 6 


58.8 


45.7i27.7 


15.6 41.5 


Minnesota 


3.2 10.2 


'20. b 


38.5 


52.8 68.0 


66.2 


65 8 


56.0 


44.1 


25.5 


11.6 38.1 


New Hampshire 


6.1 8 8 9.6 


20.1 


34.2 44.3 


46.7 


47.2 


42.6 


30. » 


17 2 11.3126.5 



We found the people frank and communicative when 
the winters were discussed. There seemed to be no 
desire on their part to deceive the traveler or pervert 
the truth. But Dakotaians believe that facts will right 
many erroneous and absurd impressions that concern 
their cold weather. So they insist that the facts be 



Its Resources a7id its People. ii 

distributed for the enlightenment of their fellow citi- 
zens. We copy a table showing the temperature in 
Dakota for six months each year, (October to March,) 
through fourteen seasons: 



1880-1 18.0° 

1881-2 26.8 

1882-3 21.1 

1883-4 19.6 

1884-5 20.6 

18«5-6 24.0 

1886-7 17.9 



1872-3 25.5= 

1873-4 22.0 

1874-5 15.0 

1875-6 19.5 

1876-7 20.8 

1877-8 32.0 

1878-9 23.9 

1879-80 23.7 

Mean average for fifteen years 21 . 8° 

During the winter of 1886 and 1887,taking December, 
January, February, there was total snowfall in Dakota 
of 47.8 inches ; New York had a snowfall of 55.7 inches ? 
Connecticut a snowfall of 60.5 inches ; New Hamp- 
shire a snowfall of 86. inches. These statistics fairly 
illustrate the winter conditions cf Dakota. In respect 
to mean winter temperature, amount of snowfall and 
bright, clear days, Dakota has precedence among vari- 
ous competitors. During the year 1886, Dakota had 
three hundred and two days that were described by 
observers and statisticians as fair or clear. There were 
only sixty-three cloudy or stormy days. This state- 
ment seems incredible. We have been prejudiced 
against Dakota. The length, severity, gloominess and 
havoc of its winters have been described with such 
iteration that it is hard to correct the dismal impression 
and yield to the force of truth. The U. S. Signal 
office furnishes the following table: 



12 



South Dakota 





Cloudy 
Days. 


Clear 
Days. 


Fair 
Days. 


Total. 


Dakota 

Nebraska 


No. 

62.9 

67.0 

81.8 

83.7 

97.3 

103.4 

103.3 

109.1 

118.0 

118.8 

128.0 

138.1 

139.5 

130.8 

135.3 

153.5 

163.6 


No. 

136.7 

134.0 

132.2 

135.0 

106.0 

115.4 

113.3 

96.8 

93.3 

106.2 

103.0 

94.5 

93.3 

90.4 

83.1 

76.1 

79.3 


No. 
175.4 
174.0 
161.0 
146.3 
161.8 
147.3 
148.4 
159.1 
153.7 
140.0 
134.0 
143.4 
143.3 
143.8 
146.6 
135.4 
133.3 


No. 


Rhode Island 




Kansas . 

Minnesota 





Illinois 




Connecticut 




Wisconsin 

Iowa. 


lv'365!6*' 


Pennsylvania 


Massachusetts 




Indiana 




Maine , . 




Ohio 




Michifjan 




New York 

New Hampshire 





It is the universal testimony of the inhabitants of the 
Territory that the rigors of winter are exaggerated to 
such a decree that gross injustice is done the country. 
Investigation proves that storms are more frequent, 
suffering more severe, snowfall heavier and dark days 
more numerous in various parts of the north and west 
and east than they are in Dakota. This is a conclusion 
to which observation, statistics and personal witness 
force us. The north-west winds that come down from 
the country laden with fine particles of snow or ice — 
these cause the suffering and disaster that occasionally 
give opportunity for harsh strictures upon the storms 
of this northern interior. But the people are emphatic 
and unanimous in their statements that a real blizzard is 
a rare thing. Numerous residents in the Territory insist 



Its Resourses ajid its People. jj 

that the storm of February 12th, 1888, is the only severe 
storm that has visited the Territory for years. This 
year has been marked by unprecedented disturbances in 
great storm centres. The whole country has suffered. 
And when it occurs that New York city itself is 
fitormed, isolated, starved, buried, paralyzed, over- 
whelmed by force of hostile elements, it behooves us 
to be quite charj^ of censure and criticism concerning 
blizzards. Not only is the New England snowfall 
larger, and the New England sky cloudier, and the 
New England winter colder, but our very blizzard is 
determined to surpass the trumpeted storm of the great 
north-west,and claims preeminence in respect to strength, 
cruelty, havoc. The truth is that atmospheric condi- 
tions to day are marked by singular transitions. The 
country is passing through phenomenal changes. New 
England climate is not the same that it was fifty years 
ago. And the north-west territory is experiencing 
changes. The climatic modifications of the north-west) 
however, are favorable to comfort, health, enjoyment. 
It is an open question if such statement be true con- 
cerning the climatic changes in the east. 

One speedily learns that it is not climate which an- 
noys the citizens of Dakota. Climate is a part of the 
Dakotaian's capital. The ozone of the air acts with 
healing efficacy. Dakota is a kind of illimitable, 
generous sanitarium. It is physician for many a 
broken, discouraged man. The climate woos the man 
into strength, energy, health. It is the monotony of 



14 South Dakota : 

tireless winds that taxes the patience and good cheer of 
the people. The winds rest during the night, but they 
are jubilantly active during the day. And yet the 
people make no complaint. They get accustomed to 
the winds. It is a part of the Dakota life. The an- 
noyance is soon forgotten. And when the trees are 
multiplied as they are through the Yankton district, 
and the whole country has had breaking the force and 
persistency of the winds will be lessened. Time will 
modify their temper and vexatiousness. The winds will 
be reckoned chiefly as loyal carriers of invigorating 
oxygen. 

The water of Dakota deserves special notice. Water 
is an important factor in the development of any 
country. Dakota has many lakes and rivers. The 
water surface of the Territory is reckoned at 1,400 
square miles. The rainfall of the country increases 
annually. The average rainfall for the five months of 
April, May, June, July and August through a period of 
seven years has been 14.89 inches. But it is artesian 
wells that make Dakota's water privileges especially 
notable. These wells are operated all through South 
Dakota. Yankton has twelve or fourteen of them. 
They yield an immense flow. The pressure is so great 
that the water is carried through the streets and into 
the houses. The pressure is so great that heavy ma- 
chinery is successfully operated. A six-inch well in 
Yankton, recently completed, furnishes power to the 
machinery of a pressed brick manufactory. The well 
yields 1,800 gallons per minute — giving a pressure 



Its Resources and its People. 15 

equal to thirty-three horse power. The well at Huron 
gives a pressure equivalent to a hundred horse power. 
The cost of sinking these wells is not so great that their 
use is impracticable. Their rapid multiplication evi- 
dences their worth, utility, profit. Twenty-nine coun- 
ties in the Territory have already used artesian wells. 
The system is destined to take important part in the his- 
tory of the country. At the session of the Territorial 
Legislature in 1887 a law was enacted which provides for 
the construction and support of artesian wells in town- 
ships and cities by an assessment upon the property 
holders and residents. The character of the water 
used for drinking and cooking purposes varies in 
different parts of the country. Some residents prefer 
cistern water. Various mineral substances give 
tone to the great share of the well water. Dr. 
Duncan, of Chicago, notes especially the restorative 
properties of the Dakota waters. For many weak- 
nesses and diseases he writes that they rival the famous 
springs of the east. The water problem has been 
satisfactorily solved for Dakota. We remember that 
not only has the soil marvellous powers of moisture re- 
tention, but the rains themselves are graciously en- 
larging their precious ministry. 

And this is the Dakota land— level, stoneless, afflu- 
ent, profitable— making good response to the court- 
ship of the farmer, witnessing to the benefits of large 
cultivation and industrious conquest— a land that 
shall prove the matchless farm land of the fair great 
west. 



DAKOTA RESOURCES. 

The products of the soil are numerous. Wheat 
makes first claim upon us. In respect to quantity of 
wheat, Dakota leads the States. One-thirtieth part of 
the Territory was sown to grain in 1887. An acreage 
of 3,818,752 yielded an average of 16|- bushels of 
wheat to the acre. The crop amounted to 62,553,499 
bushels. This was a gain of some 70 or 100 per cent, 
over the yield of the preceding year. 

The soil itself is especially adapted to the raising of 
wheat. It abounds in those constituents that are com- 
pacted into the bread grain. Dakota climate favors the 
prosperity of this valuable cereal. The heat of 
summer and the cold of winter — the moisture of 
earth and the invigoralion of air — contribute their 
help and impulse. The very seasons seem arranged 
with a view to the superlative merit and prodigal har- 
vest of the grain. 

But it is not only quantity of wheat that is note-wor- 
thy ; quality of wheat is an important factor. The Da- 
kota grain reveals a dryness and richness of albuminoids 
that give it the first rank in the market. The Bureau 
of Chemistry of the United States Department of Ag- 



Its Resources and its People. 17 

riculture has analyzed the various wheat products of 

the country. " Dakota wheat," says the report " makes 

a flavor richer than any other." Experiment proves 

that a bushel of Dakota wheat will make more bread 

than a bushel of wheat from any other section of the 

country and that this bread contains a larger percentage 

of the materials which nourish the human body, than 

the bread made from any other wheat. The Dakota 

wheat is all of the spring varieties. The farmer there- 

fore evades certain perils to the crop that are mcident 

to the raising of winter wheat. 

This Dakota wheat also brings a larger price than 
any of its competitors. It is worth from five to ten 
cents more per bushel than any other wheat. It rules 
the market. The drift of conversation in Minneapolis 
and Duluth is in the direction of Dakota wheat. It 
seems to bear the closest relation to all trade and enter- 
prise. And this same grain that commands the high- 
est market price is raised at such low price of produc- 
tion as to discredit all wheat culture in the eastern 
States. The average land investment of the Dakota 
farmer is the small sum of $5.90 per acre. The New 
York man reckons his land at $46 an acre ; the Ohio 
man at $44 an acre. Here is striking disparity. 
Then the work of cultivating the eastern farm is a 
larger and more expensive thing. Taxes and interest 
put the Dakota man at another advantage. The com- 
parative results are easily stated. The Dakota farmer 
distances his New York competitor and drives him out 



i8 South Dakota : 

of the market. It is the inevitable issue. The east 
cannot compete with the west when it comes to the 
question of profitable farming. 

But this same Dakota wheat is now transported to 
the centres of trade at small cost. This is another im- 
portant factor. Duluth will speedily become the great 
wheat market of the world. Some eight or ten railroads 
already centre in the " Zenith City." Some ten other 
roads are under process of construction. Some ten other 
roads are projected and will doubtless emerge into vis- 
ibility within five years. And this great network of 
railroads reaches through Dakota and brings the Terri- 
tory into close communication with the water-ways of 
the east. Duluth is from 200 to 350 miles nearer Da- 
kota than Chicago. Wheat is shipped from Duluth 
at a great saving. The whole cost of wheat transpor- 
tation from Dakota to Buffalo will soon be reduced to 
15 cents per bushel, says a prominent dealer. Here 
we note a tremendous saving to the Dakota farmer 
and a mighty impulse to the wheat culture of the Terri- 
tory. Railroad transportation of wheat to the east 
costs nearly three times as much as water transporta- 
tion. 

The wheat crop of Dakota brings a magnificent and 
substantial income to the farmers. And yet wheat cul- 
ture is simply making its small beginnings in the 
Territory. When the land is all put under cultivation — 
all put under thorough, scientific cultivation, the yield 
will become enormous. Dakota will feed the nation 



Its Resources and its People. ig 

with bread and grow opulent while gladly meeting 
the necessities of man. 

But such emphasis is put upon wheat that one well 
nigh forgets how the Dakota lands yield diversi- 
fied crops. Sioux City, Iowa, built her Corn Palace in 
the autumn of 1887. It was an ingenious, beautiful, 
suggestive structure. As an artistic triumph in corn 
it proved memorable. And it served the purpose of 
directing attention to this important centre of agricul- 
tural traffic. But Sioux City borders upon Dakota 
and its immense supplies of farm produce are partly 
gleaned from the Dakota fields. Corn itself is becom- 
ing a characteristic crop of the Territory. The Sioux 
Oity Corn Palace was in part a matter of homage to the 
Dakota prairies. Three years have witnessed a marked 
change in respect to the work methods of the Territorial 
farmers. When Dakota was first advertised by its re- 
markable wheat harvests, men gave no thought to other 
crops. It was all wheat. The opinion prevailed that 
it was a one crop country. The risks incident to a one 
crop country were boldly faced and the development of 
the Territory was rapid. But the American farmer 
•carries his wits with him. He is born to make shrewd 
experiment, and when corn was planted and the corn 
acres were multiplied, it was discovered that if corn 
was not king, corn stood near the throne. The har- 
vest of 1887 yielded some 25,000,000 of bushels. This 
is a larger corn crop than that of New York or Min- 



20 South Dakota : 

nesota, or South Carolina, or twenty-two other of the 
States and Territories. 

The quality of the corn is excellent. Analysis 
shows that it is especially rich in albuminoids and 
nitrogen. The soil and the climate are both agreeable 
to the cereal. The average yield is forty bushels to 
the acre. 

Flax is another crop that promises well in Dakota. 
The yield for 1886 was 3,844,788 bushels. The seed 
is the only part that is utilized to-day, but the time 
will speedily come when shops and factories will work 
the fibre into marketable form. Paper, cordage, lin- 
seed oil, paints, cloth, twine are consumed in large 
quantities by the people of Dakota. These articles all 
come from the east. When Dakota learns to manu- 
facture them herself the flax crop will become a very 
profitable investment. 

Eye, oats, barley and buckwheat are also the pro- 
ducts of the Territory, although their cultivation is a mat. 
ter of recent trial. The rye crop of 1887 was 316,586 
bushels; the barley crop 6,400,568 bushels; the 
buckwheat crop 97,230 bushels, and the oat crop 43,- 
267,478 bushels. Oats yield a harvest varying from 
sixty to ninety bushels per acre. Rye averages from 
thirty-five to fifty bushels per acre. Dakota comes near 
to taking the lead in respect to oats. One farmer related 
to the writer, how in 1882 he sowed a ten acre patch with 
oats, and reaped 730 bushels for his harvest. As the 



Its Resources and its People. 21 

oats sold for 33 cents per bushel he got a return of 
$24.09 per acre for his work. 

The vegetables of Dakota deserve notice. The 
size, quality and abundance of the garden products 
astonish the stranger. Potatoes grow to an enor- 
mous size. They yield from 150 to 300 bushels per 
acre. People show potatoes that weigh six pounds. 
This year the farmers of Dakota have supplied many of 
their neighbors with this season's vegetables. Indiana 
itself has used Dakota potatoes. The crop is always 
sure, say the farmers, the quality of the potatoe 
being the finest. Its superiority will get it good 
market in the east, so that the better price will 
pay the cost of transportation. Onions yield from 400 
to 800 bushels an acre. Turnips, peas, beans, carrots, 
parsnips, lettuce, radishes, melons, cauliflower and 
beets are raised with good results. At the Territorial 
Fair, in Mitchell,in 1887,cabbages were exhibited which 
weighed between thirty and forty pounds. Pumpkins 
were exhibited which tipped the scales at 200 pounds. 
It would appear that the vegetables do not propose to 
be outdone by the vastness of the Territory. They will 
show the ambitious western spirit and excel the east 
after a fashion that matches the immensity of the Terri- 
torial field. 

The native grasses of Dakota are nutritious and 

abundant. Hay time does not signify to these people 

the same work that it does to the eastern farmer. 

The prairie supply of hay suffices for everybody, 
c 



22 South Dakota : 

The hay crop of 1887 reached 2,500,000 tons. Large 
quantities were exported. The task of cuttinoj and 
stacking the hay is done whenever the farmer finds the 
time to turn from the harvest duties. Often the stand- 
ino" grass furnishes nourishment to cattle all through 
the winter. "Cattle come" out of the Bad Lands in the 
Spring," writes E. Y. Smalley, " as fat as though they 
had been stall-fed all winter." Timothy, millett, alfalfa 
flourish in the Territory. In fact, native grasses and 
imported grasses yield bountiful returns, and make 
Dakota a desirable land for dairy purposes. 

Sugar beets give admirable results. Scientific men 
propose to encourage that profitable industry. If sugar 
can be made from this product of Dakota soil, the sugar 
interests of the countrj^ may receive very important 
modification. Experiment will determine the matter. 

Fruit culture is in its infancy, but enough has been 
done to show the fine possibilities of soil and climate in 
the raising of numerous fruits. 

Dakota is destined to become a famous stock country. 
The lay of the land, the invigoration of the climate, 
the growth of succulent grasses, the general adapta- 
bility of the country to herds and dairies, indicate 
Dakota as a promiseful stock region. The cattle busi- 
ness is yet in the incipient state. People have been 
so controlled by the wheat interest that they have not 
adjusted themselves to the fact that stock will give 
good profits among them. The live stock that was 
reckoned for the year 1887 is valued at $43,195,229. 



Its Resources and its People. 2j 

This is no mean showing for an industry that has just 
made its beginning. The past seven years has in- 
creased the live stock of the Territory by an invest- 
ment of more than $36,000,000. Dakota already sur- 
passes thirty States and Territories in the extent and 
and largeness of her cattle industry. The great pork 
packing establishments of Omaha and Sioux City and 
Minneapolis draw immense supplies from Dakota 
Pork packing is a business that will soon employ 
thousands of men in the Territory itself. 

" I will challenge any man," a prosperous farmer of 
•Central Dakota writes us, " to show better horses, cat- 
tle, sheep, in the States than we have raised here in 
Spink county." And our observation sustains this 
farmer's statement. There are millions of acres of na- 
tive forage interspersed through the Territory. Hogs 
thrive upon it through the summer and autumn. The 
large corn harvests are easily converted into swine's 
flesh when the need of such food comes. Nearly 500,- 
000 hogs were fattened in the Territory in 1886. 

Cattle are observed scattered all along the prai- 
ries. The dry and even weather of the summer favors 
the health and vigor of the animals. The luxuriant 
grasses afford fat nourishment. When it is time to 
sell the herd the beef packing establishments gather 
them into their sheds. The farmer's task is done and 
his cattle are converted into dollars. But not all cat- 
tle are disposed, of according to this summary fashion. 
Milk, butter and cheese are now staple commodities of 



24 South Dakota : 

the Territory. Here and there you observe creameries 
and cheese factories. Every farmer has his company of 
animals (small or large as the case may be). It wit- 
nesses to the general character and diverse products of 
the farm work. The perils of failure are lessened to 
such degree that one now feels good assurance of live* 
lihood and profit whatever turn may be given to affairs 
by peculiarities of season. 

One is also pleased to see the frequent flocks of 
sheep that appear in various parts of the Territory. 
This is new business. There were few sheep in Dakota 
seven years ago. The brief experiment in raising sheep 
has been eminently successful. As the facts are 
scattered among the farmers there will result a notable 
increase in the number and size of the herds and the 
product of the wool. " I do not believe there is a 
better country in the world for sheep," remarked an 
enterprising farmer who had made good success with 
his flocks. 

As we travel through the Territory and observe the 
swift development of these various agricultural in- 
dustries, we are profoundly impressed by the great 
possibilities of the field. There are only 75,000 acres of 
the "Bad Lands" in all the Territory. These " Bad 
Lands " afford nutritious pasturage to great droves of 
cattle. Dakota, we learn, has less waste land iu 
proportion to its size than any other State or Territory in 
the Union. As we follow the trend of life, measure 
the force of work, reckon the opportunities for ex- 



Its Resources and its People. 2^ 

pansion, ponder the opulence of nature, we are in- 
spired with an indomitable faith in the future greatness 
of this majestic Territory. 

But the resources of Dakota are not confined to 
agriculture. Dakota is emphatically and preeminently 
an agriculiural land, yet there must inevitably come a 
development of other resources that shall prove helpful. 
Brick making, paper making, broom making, wagon 
making, flour mills, feed mills, iron mills, planing 
mills, woolen mills, saw mills, shingle mills, glass 
factories, paint factories, sash and door factories, 
foundries, marble works, packing houses, we observe 
all these industries, and although they are yet infant 
enterprises, they represent a capital of $11,000,000. 
Dakota will do a large part of her own shop work, give 
her time to develop the business. The home supply of 
raw material is so large and the home consumption 
reaches such enormous proportions that economy and 
thrift will force the Dakotaian into manufactures. 

There are the mines of the Territory. They signify 
work, population, trade, wealth. The country west of 
the Missouri as well as a good part of North Dakota 
contains a rich deposit of coal. The soft variety is 
especially abundant. While inferior to anthracite, it 
nevertheless will supply the people with cheap, good 
fuel. In the neighborhood of the Black Hills there are 
immense deposits of coal. It is said that the Great 
Sioux reservation is especially rich in this mineral. 
The time will soon come when Dakota will heat herself 



26 South Dakota : 

by her own treasured fires. The gold and silver pro- 
ducts of the Black Hills are important contributions to 
the resources of the Territory. The Homestake mine 
has paid dividends to the amount of $3,84:3,750 ; the 
Father de Sraet has paid dividends to the amount of 
$1,125,000 ; numerous other mines have yielded 
fair profits. Railroads will ^ive a tremendous im- 
pulse to the careful and profitable working of the 
various ores that are prodigally scattered through the 
Black Hills. Tin was discovered in 1883. Time will 
reveal the importance of this discovery. Other valua- 
ble ores are found. One is safe in prophesying a 
prosperous future for this part of Dakota. A country 
that will yield nearly $34,000,000 worth of gold and 
silver in a period of ten years, and that combines with 
her mining interests a fair share of agricultural and 
trade interests, gives unequivocal promise of greatness. 
We get a good interpretation of Dakota's substan- 
tial resources when we note the financial condition of 
the Territory. The wealth of Dakota exceeds $350,- 
000,000. (Computed by Territorial ofiicials.) The past 
seven years has noted an annual increase of $40,000,- 
000 in the real values of the Territory. Farm improve- 
ments, immigration, the building of houses, construc- 
tion of railroads, reveal the secret of such property ex- 
pansion. Railroads pierce the land at the rate of a 
thousand miles per year. This year the immigration 
is computed at one hundred thousand people. The 
various trade centres of the different counties show an 



Its Resources and its People. 2^ 

unprecedented activity and growth. The land itself 
promises a wealth of harvests that has stimulated the 
farmer into the larojest hopefulness. In 1875 Dakota 
school property was valued at $25,000. Twelve years 
expand these figures into $3,000,000. In May, 18S7, 
Dakota issued bonds to the amount of $400,000, bear- 
ing four and a half per cent, interest. These bonds 
were sold at a premium of more than half of one per 
cent. Dakota now places her securities at a rate of 
interest lower than that ever obtained by any other 
Territory. The financial soundness of Dakota com- 
mends her bonds, her character, her products, her 
people. 



DAKOTA PEOPLE. 

It IS a delicate matter when one has sojourned among 
the people of a new land, to speak candidly and judi- 
ciously concerning individuals and classes. But the 
people have made Dakota the prosperous land which we 
have seen. And the people deserve a share of study 
and remark in connection with such noble task. One 
is speedily impressed with the fact that the people are 
young. It is a land where all affairs seem conducted 
by men who are rugged with the strength of first man- 
hood. The west itself is exuberant and masterful 
through this sovereignty of stalwart and ambitious 
youth. The farms are pioneered by young men. The 
churches are builded by young men. The banks are 
managed by young men. The stores, the shops, the 
schools, the railroads, are run by young men. Law, 
politics, medicine, religion, they all centre in young 
men. And it is neither to the discredit of the young men 
nor to the discredit of work, trade, profession, that we 
say it. The nine hundred young men who faced Fred- 
erick Barbarossa on the plains beyond Milan, and 
won the day for Milanese independence, did a work 
that symbols the possible achievement of youth 
when their strength and enthusiasm centre upon life's 
tasks. Young men pursue the course of nature when 



Its Resources and its People. 2Q 

they join themselves to these western conquerors and 
go forth to subdue the land. There is something 
peculiarly stimulating in this association with invin- 
cible manhood. Imagination is a loyal servant through 
the days of youth. And one needs imagination to push 
one's way through some of the labors that appeal to the 
western settler. The old house was probably guaided 
by oaks and elms and maples. Their shade soothed 
the body when the summer days grew warm. But 
Dakota trees are largely objects of the imagination. 
Give them time and they will grace the new made home 
and sing their gentle monotones to the inmates. To- 
day, however, one must imagine their grace and music. 
And so with various creature comforts that administer 
to the contentment of age. Young men see these things 
in their mind's eye. A little tarrying upon time and 
the mighty prairies shall give the people ample shade, 
tempered breezes, refreshing showers, all the amenities 
of the former life. There is precious refreshment to 
the Dakota citizen in this subtle ministry of the im- 
agination. 

The traveler meets few men who have passed the 
age of fifty. The prime of life gives its unforgetable 
stamp to the development of the land. And it does 
not appear that these people lack wise counsel and 
good balance. They show sense, practicality, purpose- 
fulness, toned by the vastness of the landscape and the 
invigoration of the air. 

We note the courage of the Dakotaians. It may be 



JO South Dakota : 

that the ruggedness of the winters does something for 
them in the making of courage. The rough usage of 
a bh'zzard is undoubtedly conducive to a spirit of 
brave and stubborn resistance. A repetition of March 
12th, 1888, in New York, may serve the same general 
end through the east. When one has withstood such 
an assault of the elements it sometimes quickens inta 
vigor certain qualities of mind that are essential to the 
successful life. These Dakota people manifest a cour* 
age that gives character to plans, labors, experiences. 
" Are you not timid, living away from neighbors here 
in the prairie," we say to the farmer's wife. And she 
replies, " we are only a mile or two miles from such a 
house. The school is near. Neighbors grow more 
common. We have nothing to fear. Harm never 
touches us. We are not annoyed by tramps. We 
scarce ever see an Indian. They stay upon their re- 
servations." Such is common testimony. But there 
are many transactions that require courage. Work, 
privation, econom}^, discomfort, it takes courage to 
face these things. So it occurs that the faint heart 
fails and returns to the narrowness and the discontent 
of the east. 

Dakota people are alert to the demands of the day. 
Their energy is attributable in some degree to the 
stimulation of the climate. They agree with Napo- 
leon that the dictionary does not contain the word 
" can't." The Dakotaian is always ready to say with 
Frederick of Prussia, " I dare to do the impossible.'^ 



Its Resources and its People. ji 

And when you think of it, it appears that their 
achievements have been along that line. There are 
nearly five thousand miles of railroads in the Territory 
to-day. And the roads are pushing through the farm 
districts in all directions. The settlers are not obliged 
to caravan their way to their new homes. The cars 
distribute them along the very land that they propose to- 
till. The old time pioneer life is foreign to the present 
settlement of Dakota. It was the general opinion 
when the Territory was first advertised that wheat was 
the only crop congenial to the soil. This was a thing 
that demanded investigation. It was not long ere ex- 
periment proved the generous character of the soil and 
its adaptability to the interests of varied farming. The 
meagre water suppl}^ annoyed the settlers. They 
studied the nature of their farm grounds and learned 
that the moisture of summer and winter was retained 
with unexampled persistency, so that the bugbear 
drought was driven into exile. Still, the moisture of 
the deep soil did not signify precious streams of crys- 
tal water. They therefore pierced the earth with arte- 
sian wells until great strong volumes of the desired 
fluid pushed their way through the earth's surface and 
carried blessings to the land. But it does not matter 
what the demand ; these people show the enterprise to- 
meet it. There is nothing in the way of practicable 
achievement which they will not master, give them 
time to do it. And they pursue their course with such 
an air of quiet, equable self-confidence that the traveler 



J2 South Dakota : 

is shamed into faith. As you meet these people you 
feel the throb of a swift, earnest, aggressive, trium- 
phant life, and how cordial these lively people are! 

We made our first entrance into Dakota through 
Watertown. It was a gray and misty morning. The 
fields were wet with recent rains. The landscape 
presented a sobriety and melancholy that did not 
conduce to good cheer or light-heartedness. As the 
train drew near the depot we saw throngs of men. The 
city was a-throb with tumultuous life, and when the 
train stopped we were greeted with the resonant, 
exultant strains of a brass band. The grayness of the 
morning and the melancholy of the landscape were 
forgotten. We had read that when men visited this 
new west the people were bound to make favorable 
impression upon them. We had even read that 
when men sought this new west with an eye to business 
and development they were greeted by brass bands. 
But we had always thought such stories apocryphal, 
and here was the plain fact which our skeptical mind 
had disputed. The band played with all the expression 
and enthusiasm that it was possible for them to put into 
their interpretation of " Hail to the Chief." We were 
touched by the spontaneity and the cordiality of such 
unexpected greeting. And then just as the contagion 
had communicated itself to us and we were preparing 
to pass a vote of thanks, we discovered that it was a 
political convention that had been thrust upon us and 
we withdrew into the obscurity of our small company 



Its Resources and its People. JJ 

and again thought upon the grayness of the morning 
and the melancholy of the landscape. Nevertheless the 
people do greet one with a happy heartiness that is all 
their own. 

Can it be that the genial play of Dakota sunshine 
incarnates itself in the person of its people? Driving 
through the endless fields of wheat, corn and oats we 
hailed the farmer and discussed his work. That does 
not satisfy the man ; we must go into the house ; we 
must share his modest hospitality; we must measure 
the profit and the satisfaction of a 1,000 acre Dakota 
farm. It was the same spirit of good cheer, large 
fellowship, happy welcome, whether we journeyed in 
the cars or tarried at the hotels or mingled with the 
people in their houses. The newness, the largeness, 
the importance of their tasks give them a certain fine 
spirit of comradeship. They want to share their 
responsibilities with their fellows. They want 
to divide opportunities among their associates. 
Kivalry itself among them seems generous and true 
hearted. One necessarily finds a great deal of personal 
competition among the people who make these new 
communities. But the bitterness and harassment of 
feud and quarrel have not yet dimmed the youth of 
the fair land. The large productive charity that 
features the literature of the New Testament makes 
forceful appeal to the free life of the West. Its 
adaptability to the anomalous conditions of society is a 
very suggestive fact. Dakota is favored with a wealth. 



J4 South Dakota : 

of fair and cloudless days. Weather will thrust itself 
into the moods, features, enersjies and characters of 
men. 

It were a matter of course to remark the intelligence 
of these people. They publish 352 newspapers. This 
number exceeds the number published in twenty-four 
different States of the Union. Intelligence were palpa- 
ble in the very fact that these people have sought this 
fertile land and chosen it as the home-place. New 
York farms represent an average investment of $46 
per acre. Dakota farms represent an average invest- 
ment of $6 per acre. The Dakota acre will surpass the 
New York acre in productiveness. And the New 
York markets, by the help of water-ways, serve the 
Dakota farmer when he sells his produce. These set- 
tlers of South Dakota, are predominantly American. 
They came from all the eastern States. They repre- 
sent the best families of the land. It is not frontier 
pandemonium that one finds in Dakota. The people 
bring books, pictures, pianos with them, — all the acces- 
sories of refinement and education. Their small homes 
are filled with the evidences of mental culture. The 
magazines, the reviews, the newspapers, are conven- 
iently at hand. Dakota life seems to sharpen the wits 
of these people. There is just enough adventure con- 
nected with a migration westward to spice the life, and 
give it a healthful invigoration. The mind becomes 
active, observant, efficient. And the innumerable 
'questions that concern life when the community passes 



Its Resources and its People, jj* 

through its formative season, call into activity the 
faculties that might otherwise lie quiescent. One 
could not but notice the extent of general information 
and the accuracy of statement revealed through gen- 
eral conversation. People have the feeling that they 
must do their own thinking in Dakota. It may be 
that some of the pioneers chose the Territory for a 
home with that very purpose. The conservatism and 
the conventionality of the East depressed them and 
trammeled them. Here they have the freedom of the 
prairies. And they can put this thought into the 
plastic conditions of this fresh life. It not only gives 
men satisfaction, but it fosters mind-power, this taking 
share in the making of the State. Circumstances were 
important factors in determining the sturdy, indepen- 
dent, noble type of our Kew England ancestry. And 
circumstances contribute their strength to the worth 
and character of the Dakota people. 

The Territory is marked by a significant patriotism. 
Many thousands of our soldiers have chosen Dakota 
for their home-making. We meet them on everj^ side. 
And sometimes it is a pathetic sight. It is farming 
under difficulties when the man has only one arm to 
help him, or when infirmity makes the days uncertain 
and distressful. You see these people scattered through 
Dakota. They fought the country's battles, and they 
accept the country's dole of land and bread. There is 
no charity about this thing. It is meagre, petty pay- 
ment for a service that saved the integrity of the 



jd South Dakota : - 

Union. And these same soldiers, who braved death 
for their countrj^, who carry wound scars that stamp 
them with the honorable insignia of patriotism, are 
disfranchised. They take no part in the peaceful ad- 
ministration of this Government. They pay their 
taxes, submit to distant domination, and endure the 
shame and contumely of voiceless, helpless insignifi- 
cance. It speaks well for the loyalty of the Dakota peo- 
ple that they pursue a dignified, straightforward course. 
Hope is strong in the hearts of these citizens. They 
carry with them positive assurance that the future shall 
bring them unstinted prosperity. These people have 
observed the trend of events. They have measured the 
promises of the years. Disappointment may touch them ; 
circumstances may vex them, but their unfaltering faith 
in the country, and their indomitable reliance upon them- 
selves, make them triumphantly hopeful. Foreigners 
have not settled largely in South Dakota. The native 
American has impressed the country with his unique 
character. And as you move among these people, you 
confess to an atmosphere of prosperity that seems to 
brood above the very land and give its healthful impulse 
to the tiller of the soil as well as the citizen of the town. 
It is delightful to tarry with people who make per- 
petual distribution of ffood cheer, large faith, cordial 
spirit, happy zeal. It is worth the journey to this 
Dakota land — a few days' association with such large- 
ness of plan, enthusiasm of progress, magnitude of 
achievement. It was the saying of the old Greek poet, 



Its Resources and its People. j'jr 

Epaminondas, that " the gods sell for labor all good 
things." These modern Dakotaians give fine emphasis 
to the classic maxim. 

One does not look for many charitable, religious and 
educational institutions in a country that has just been 
subdued. These witnesses to advanced civilization are 
things of slow growth. Nevertheless, we found them 
in Dakota. The zeal of these people is especially 
noticeable when vou discuss reform, education, relior- 
ion. Various institutions for the amelioration of suf- 
fering and the reformation of the depraved have been 
founded and supported by the territory. Asylums, 
penitentiaries, prisons, are conducted on the plans that 
approve themselves to the intelligence of the people, 
and their work bears very favorable comparison with 
neighbor States. It is a suggestive fact, however, that 
the percentage of criminals confined in the peniten- 
tiaries is the smallest of any State in the Union, being 
only 1 to 2,263 inhabitants. 

Church work shows an energy, an aggressiveness, 
an enthusiasm that touch the observer to the quick. 
A great task is laid upon the various missionary socie- 
ties. The new towns demand church privileges. They 
have not had time to do much in the way of public 
improvement ; private affairs have occupied their first 
days. But the church necessity presses itself into the 
heart. The people ask the help of their Eastern friends. 
The Missionary Society sends its men. The field is 
canvassed, a loan is made to the young church, a 



jS South Dakota : 

modest edifice is erected and the town is strengthened 
by this compact and visible expression of the religious 
sentiment. The villages and the cities all have their 
churches. They are among the first signs of a genuine 
liome life. These modest beginnings contain the potency 
of great, vigorous organizations. Speedily growing into 
self-support, they operate with tremendous power in the 
shaping of the people into worthy character. And 
still the work does not keep pace with the demands of 
the day. It is the season of supreme opportunity. 
The church as a precious factor in the moulding of these 
new, sensitive conditions is welcomed and cherished. 
But the missionary societies seem blind to the magnifi- 
cent fields that stretch before them, or is it the 
people of the east who fail to measure the importance 
of the formative period, and so give small contributions 
to these societies that plant and foster young churches ? 
These western workmen who direct church affairs show 
a zeal, earnestness, self-denial, enterprise that fill the 
traveler with admiration and inspire him with hope ; 
nevertheless, their tasks expand with such speed and 
attain such vast proportions, that discouragement 
sometimes perils their devotion and threatens to stare 
them out of countenance. Men drive their thirty and 
forty miles on the Sabbath, preaching morning,afternoon 
and evening, ministering to three and sometimes four 
congregations, conducting Sunday schools, organizing 
neighborhood meetings, planning the prosperity of 
churches. And these herculean labors are performed 



f Its Resourses and its People. JQ 

with a good cheer and an enthusiasm that give happy 
witness to the worth and meaning of such labors. But 
it is something that must be dinned into the ears and 
pushed into the hearts of our eastern people, that now is 
the accepted time. This new west may be wrought into 
a strength, merii, beauty of Christian civilization that 
shall make it the very paradise of the Republic. Will 
the church do it ? Make generous, triumphant response, 
wise and loyal citizens of this great country ! 

Dakota's educational institutions are numerous and 
progressive. The public school system advantages the 
the Territory after a noble fashion. We observed three 
handsome district school houses a short distance from 
Redfield that cost some $4:,000 (the three buildings). 
Four thousand public schools are scattered through 
the prairies. 

Dakota surpasses eight States and all the Territories 
in school population. She employs a greater number 
of school teachers than sixteen of the States. She 
has more school days than eleven States. The 
value of her school property exceeds that of thirty- 
three States and Territories. She enrolls a larger per- 
centage of the children in her schools than any other 
State or Territory, with the exception of Connecticut, 
Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire and 
Ehode Island. Each township has 1,280 acres set 
apart by the United States Government for the sup- 
port of public schools. These lands are available 
when the Territory attains statehood. As the lands are 



40 South Dakota : 

valued approximately at $5,000,000 according to 
the Commissioner of Immigration, the sale of these 
lands would give the largest school fund belonging 
to any State. At the present time the nearly $2,000,- 
000 devoted to school work is annually raised by tax- 
ation and the people bear the burden without com- 
plaint. These public schools keep abreast of the times. 
The methods of instruction and the class of text books 
denote that teachers are well trained and thoroughly 
posted. Special instruction is here given concerning 
the nature and effects of alcoholic drinks and narcotics, 
although nearly sixty counties have banished the 
saloon and illustrate local prohibition. 

Higher institutions of learning are established in dif- 
ferent parts of the Territory. The various sections 
will soon have their own academies and colleges, so 
that a thorough education is possible to any industri- 
ous, ambitious youth. There are seven Territorial in- 
stitutions and fourteen other colleges and academies. 
Handsome buildings have been erected by many of 
these schools. We could not visit them, but we met a 
number of the men who have the leadership in educa- 
tional affaire, and the reports which they gave us 
showed the usefulness and the influence of the insti- 
tutions. Yankton College has done an excellent work. 
The President, Doctor Ward, is a man of rare ability, 
one who does not restrict labor to academic halls, but 
shares loyally in all public enterprises. President 
Ward has invested a large amount of personal labor in 



Its Resources and its People. 4.1 

the numerous affairs that concern the prosperity and 
character of South Dakota. The University at Vermil- 
lion enters heartily into the work of the day. The in- 
stitution gives fine promise of State service under the 
leadership of its popular, energetic President. Red- 
field College is a school that has recently been founded 
in Redfield, Spink county. The location is good and 
the opportunities of service are numerous. Its Presi- 
dent shows great zeal in his task of organiza- 
tion. The building recentl}^ erected for the use 
of the institution is one of the handsomest edifices 
that we saw in Dakota. Like other new schools 
established in the Territory it illustrates the thrift, en- 
terprise, self-sacrifice, intelligence of its loyal founders 
and benefactors. Men make no happier or profitabler 
investment of their money than in the solid construc- 
tion and thorough organization of such institutions. 
Redfield College, Grotan College, Sioux Falls Univer- 
sity, Pierre University, Dakota University, Yankton 
College — they all deserve the large bounty and the 
cordial support of eastern and western friends. These 
institutions are vital to the mental vigor and moral 
health of the Territory. College graduates are numer- 
ous in Dakota. They are alive to the significance of 
higher education. They propose that this broad com- 
monwealth shall source its future greatness in the 
large intelligence and the regal merit of its people. 



DAKOTA CITIES. 

An eastern man uses the word city with diffidence 
when he refers to the larger towns of the Territory. 
People who are accustomed to villages of 10,000 in- 
habitants, like Stamford, Ct., or 15,000 inhabitants 
like Saratoga Springs, do not easily adjust their speech 
to the western conditions. But the matter rights 
itself after one gets familiar with the situation. A 
man must visit Duluth, Minneapolis, Kansas City, 
Omaha, Sioux City, and other places that have made 
their history during the last five or fifteen years. He 
must glean statistics, study territory, measure trade 
possibilities, remark the ultimate centre of immigration. 
When this has been done with faithfulness, he has 
data for judgment in respect to cities. The slow^ 
staid, ancient, monotonous movements of the New 
England farm districts are not characteristic of western 
life. Dakota abounds in " rustlers." And we are 
prepared to say " city " when we describe these busy^ 
workful, energetic, thriving, wonderful towns. 

The thing that first impresses us when we get good 
understanding of the thing is the reasonableness of the 
claim to cityhood. Dakota is an immense Territory. 
It is rapidly passing under the sway of the farmer. Well 
nigh seven hundred thousand people make Dakota their 



Its Resources and its People. 43 

home. Such tremendous influx of settlers necessitates 
the building of cities. There are fifteen or eighteen 
towns that lay just claim to that name in the Ter- 
ritory. And that is a small number for a great State con- 
taining 150,000 square miles of land. Now, these cities 
are all small. They are young. They have not had 
time to gain a large population. They have never been 
marked by sporadic, high-pressure, abnormal develop- 
ment. Mining towns spring into existence in a day, 
and then die almost as quickly. Mining districts do 
not conduce to health and vigor of city growth. The 
fever and uncertainty connected with the business im- 
part their own peculiar features to the towns. But 
these Dakota cities are the inevitable results of agri- 
cultural prosperity. In the first place, we observe 
that the rapid development of the country necessitated 
trade centres. The farmer must have a convenient 
post where he can obtain supplies, transact the necessary 
business of food, clothes, implements, stock. As the 
districts became settled, the trade centres grew in im- 
portance. Five years make these trade centres verita- 
ble cities, although their population may not have 
attained great numbers The character of the place is 
civic. Its relations to the country are civic. The at- 
mosphere is civic. Banks, stores, hotels, factories, of- 
fices, shops, newspapers, activities and enterprises, all 
tend to give the trade centre a city worth and promi- 
nence. The territory which these places drain is enor- 
mous. Counties that exceed some of the eastern States 



44 South Dakota : 

in size contribute all their business to a city such as we 
have described. The amount of business transacted as- 
tonishes the traveler. Two dry goods stores situated in 
one of the newest of these places (a town that does not 
yet call itself a city,) did a business last year that a 
mounted to $40,000 each. These figures indicate the 
trade possibilities of the Dakota trade centres. It is a 
matter of necessity that each section of the country 
build such a town to centralize its interests. 

The railroad corporations are swift to interpret this 
need. When they pierce the land they plan these oc- 
casional centres. With an eye to their own prosperity 
they establish a town, making large grants of land to it, 
encouraging the settlement of the place, giving gener- 
ously to the erection of public buildings and doing 
many things to multiply the attractions of the centre. 
The railroad corporations have transformed the great 
west into an industrious, energetic, profitable country. 
These corporations enhance the value of their own 
property and enlarge their business at the same time 
that they prove allies of the tradesmen and farmers in 
the great task of making a rich and prosperous com- 
monwealth. These cities become railroad centres. 
Take such a place as Aberdeen. The Milwaukee, St. 
Paul, Chicago road, the Northwestern road, the Mani- 
toba road, the Aberdeen & Bismarck road meet each 
other here. This illustrates the condition. When 
one road has entered a thriving central town other 
roads are compelled to push for the same place. These 



Its Resources and its People. 4.J 

€orporations show remarkable shrewdness and fore- 
sight in such matters. And the men who direct their 
affairs have impregnable confidence in the future im- 
portance of these elected cities. In frequent conversa- 
tions with railroad officials, we were profoundly im- 
pressed by their mighty faith in Dakota's greatness. 
Pivotal points — -that is what the railroads make these 
cities. The roads diverge from them in all directions. 
They are rapidly cutting the landscape into small sec- 
tions. They transport the commodities of life to the 
very door of the farmers, and then take in exchange his 
wheat, oats, potatoes, corn, cattle and butter. 

These central cities are also county seats. The 
public offices and buildings must be located where 
they are convenient to the people. Trade centres and 
railroad centres have decided the question of con- 
venience. The county business therefore adds its 
strength to the prosperity of the favored cities. Pro- 
fessional men are naturally attracted to these places. 
They observe opportunities such as are rare and 
promiseful. Education gets an impulse that signifies 
thorough work and broad culture. The various 
advantages that pertain to the life of aggressive cities 
are common to these nascent Dakota towns. We 
recognize their right to sisterhood among the cities of 
the land. " How large are your city limits? " we said 
to a citizen who spoke enthusiastically concerning the 
'growth of his town. " Three miles square," was the 
reply. " Is not that pretty large territory for you ?" 



4^ South Dakota : 

'^Noj" he said. " We have well nigh spread over all 
that space, and in a short time we shall be obliged to- 
stretch the city limits." The truth of it is, these cities 
grow with such vigorous rapidity that a stranger is- 
incompetent to discuss the merits of their case. 

Dakota is an agricultural Territory. It is farm 
work that explains her marvellous prosperity. Nev- 
ertheless, there are splendid opportunities for the de- 
velopment of manufacturing interests. Such a vast 
country must do a good share of its own shop work if 
it proposes to manage its affairs with economy. Mill- 
ing is a business that will grow into good proportions 
in these cities. There are already one hundred and 
fourteen flouring mills in the Territory. Farm work 
is done by machinery. The amount of farm machinery 
sent annually into Dakota is enormous. It represents- 
a great amount of money that is sent out of Dakota. 
A fair share of such implements will be made in the 
Territory itself ere many years pass. Kailroad shops 
give employment to many men in the cities. The 
brick yards, the broom factories, the feed mills, the 
tow mills, the carriage shops, the wood shops and other 
manufacturing establishments are making good begin- 
nings. But mechanical and factory industries are not 
thoroughly established. The cities are alive to the 
demands of the hour. They will now give special en- 
couragement to these enterprises, but the immediate 
necessities of the farmers and the task of building up 
trade have so engrossed the people that manufacturing 



Its Resources and its People. 41 

interests have not received the support and gained the 
impetus that shall be given to them in the future. 
As we pass from town to town we remark the next 
step in the regal prosperity of Dakota. The cities 
must foster manufactures. Such a course will fill them 
with industrious, intelligent artisans, give strength and 
stability to the city institutions, supply the home con- 
sumption of many valuable products, enlarge and stimu- 
late the circulation of money and share very generously 
in the prosperity of the commonwealth. Aberdeen is 
well located for purposes of manufacture. We do not 
mean that it has water power. These Dakota cities — 
the most of them — must depend upon steam or elec- 
tricity or artesian wells for motive in machine work. 
But Aberdeen commands a wide section of country, 
and the railroads make it a centre. Trade flows easily 
to it, the influx of people is large and continuous. The 
city shows a liveliness, an enterprise, a persistency, a de- 
cision that commend it to men of like instincts and pur- 
poses. The activity among the builders is remarkable. 
Private houses, business blocks, railroad shops, public 
edifices, they are all in process of erection and still the 
demand outstrips the supply. Watertown, near the 
eastern boarder of the Territory, has a location that is 
especially attractive. The monotony of a level country 
is avoided by the gentle rise of low hills on the one 
side and an undulating, elevated landscape on the 
other. There is just enough diversity of surface to 
rest and please the eye. The city gathers into its 



48 South Dakota : 

limits the central plain and the neighboring elevations. 
The broad, straight streets press their way into the 
prairies or run their course down to the low shores of 
the modest Big Sioux river. Here one notes the same 
air of brisk trade and enthusiastic enterprise. Hand- 
some residences rise in various parts of the city. The 
lawns will be neat and trim and shaded when time 
gives full encouragement to man's workmanship. But 
people feel that they can afford to wait, and one for- 
gives the crudeness and the freshness of the work 
when we measure the promise of the future. Shaded 
streets and beautiful lawns — they are the precious 
fruition of«years. Watertown is less than ten years 
old. Yet it has reached proportions that give perfect 

assurance of its permanent character. The finest bank 
building in the Territory adorns one of the streets of 
the city. And we were surprised to see many hand- 
some stores, offices, blocks, buildings, giving the place 
an appearance of worth, stability, progress that might 
well be the envy of eastern cities. It will not be long 
ere the wholesale trade will gain a foothold in this 
energetic town. A vast country is tributary to Water- 
town. Its growth will necessarily be rapid during the 
next decade. 

One of the attractions here is Lake Kampeska. A 
beautiful piece of landscape stretches between the city 
and the lake. As one stands upon the elevation north- 
ward one observes the gleaming waters in the distance. 
We drive through three miles of undulating verdure, 



Its Resources and its People. 49 

and then we rest on the pleasant shores of Kampeska. 
Jutting cliffs, ample fields, fringes of trees, occasional 
cottages, such is the narrow bordering of the lake, but 
great broad lands of living green give the ampler fram- 
ing to the beautiful retreat. Kampeska is destined to 
give delightful prominence to Watertown. The motor 
line in process of construction, which will connect the 
city and the lake, promises to make a summer resort of 
large proportions and wide fame. Add trade activities, 
railroad facilities, manufacturing interests, and Kam- 
peska enjoyments, and the sum will be a large, flour- 
ishing, important, attractive city named Watertown. 

Some sixty miles west the traveler finds Redfield, the 
county seat of Spink county. Several railroads make 
the place a centre. The usual elevators are constructed 
at the stations. The trade of a large section of country 
locates itself here. Stores, banks, offices, hotels, 
churches, county buildings, good schools, water works, 
flour mills, creamery, wood-working establishment, 
they all serve the town and give it the pleasant appear- 
ance of prosperity. We visited many farms in the 
neighborhood of Redfield. As we discussed lands, 
harvests, investments we gained fresh knowledge con- 
cerning the matchless advancement of this country. 
It is one of those things that cannot be obstructed, the 
ultimate pre-eminence of Dakota as the agricultural 
autocrat among the States. The record of bank transac- 
tions through the autumn astounds the unsophisticated 
New Englander. Money channels itself through these 



^O South Dakota : 

institutions with such a continuity and largeness of flow 
that one gets the impression that it is minted in the 
very fields. Eastern capital wedded to western indus- 
try yields its splendid harvest. The amount of bank- 
ing business transacted by one National bank in Eed- 
field would be creditable and noteworthy for many 
cities of the east. 

One observes similar characteristics as Huron, Mitchell, 
Pierre, Madison, Chamberlain are visited. Business 
moves with briskness and enthusiasm. It is not 
speculation. Agricultural and trade sections are not 
favorable for speculative purposes. Values are even 
and reliable, with a healthful movement in the way of 
appreciation. People who buy land here testify unani- 
mously to the profit of the investment, since lands are 
rising in value. And people who buy city property 
with discretion are equally secure in respect to ample 
profits. City real estate has doubled in price 
during the last two or three or five years. It is 
matter of necessity. South Dakota is bound to 
grow. Immigration besieges the Territory. The 
impulse of development is irresistible. Improve- 
ment, industry, expansion, settlement — they all en- 
hance the worth of property, and contribute their share 
to security and stability. Huron has many substantial 
buildings, and considerable wealth is located in the 
city. Many handsome private residences give a cer- 
tain home appearance to the place that commends it to 
the traveler. Streets are lighted by electricity, as are 



Its Resources and its People, ^i 

the streets of Aberdeen and Watertown. Water is 
?upplied by a strong-pressure artesian well. Street 
railway, railroad shops, pork-packing house, flour mills, 
oil storage tanks, and various industrial establish- 
ments, give the city a prosperous business appearance. 
The schools and the churches of Huron are doing ad- 
mirable work. In fact, this is characteristic of Dakota 
towns. One notes the same thing in Yankton. Peo- 
ple are alert to material prosperity, yet they put 
strong emphasis upon school and church. Yankton 
has an appearance of age as compared with her city 
competitors. Numerous shops and public institutions 
give employment to a large company of men. The 
streets — many of them — are adorned with shade trees. 
One has the feeling that Yankton may be further east 
than some other Dakota cities. And yet age will 
modify the temper and appearance of all these impul- 
sive, palpitant cities. One ought not to say one word 
to their disparagement. Sioux Falls is one of the live- 
liest towns in the West. Its trade has developed with 
marvelous rapidity. And it is forcible illustration of 
the manufacturing possibilities of the Territory. Flour 
mills, stove works, packing houses, wood shops, crack- 
er factory, foundries, broom factory, bottling works, 
cooper shops, carriage shops, creamery, cheese factory, 
brick yards, cigar factories, and various other factories 
are all in successful operation here. The city has the 
telephone system, street railways, gas works, water 
works, electric light plant, some fourteen or fifteen 



^2 South Dakota : 

churches, several educational and Territorial institu- 
tions, an opera house, fire department, and county 
buildings. The people themselves are thoroughly 
alive to the interests of the city. They propose to en- 
large their enterprises, to increase their trade facilities. 
And their zeal will bring them rich reward. Sioux 
Falls will soon attain the proportions of a robust city. 
Men and opportunities are the two prime factors in the 
making of great cities. Dakota has the men — men of 
faith, spirit, sagacity, perseverance. Dakota has the 
opportunities — opportunities that history scarcely para- 
lels. Dakota will have large cities — prosperous, opu- 
lent, well-governed, progressive. And these cities will 
bear close, intimate relations to the development and 
importance of Dakota. 



STATEHOOD. 

Dakota is majestic in its proportions. It spaces one 
hundred and fifty thousand square miles. As we cut 
it into acres, it takes eight figures to denote the result. 
Dakota gives us 96,596,480 acre lots. The landscape 
seems illimitable. Such vast dimensions tax the mind 
unto weariness. AVe want to think of Delaware or 
Connecticut for a moment, in order to rest us in our 
fatigue. It takes ten Denmarks to make one Dakota. 
We will think of little Denmark as a brief and happy 
respite. 

The productiveness of this land matches its magni- 
tude. The harvests seem limited only by man's capac- 
ity to till the acres and garner the increase. Wheat, 
rye, oats, flax, corn, barley, vegetables, flourish after a 
regal fashion, while flocks of sheep and herds of cattle 
add their precious contributions to the prosperit}'^ of 
the land. 

These level, fertile, mighty acres invite the sover- 
eignty of man. The rightful masters take possession. 
It is a large company that is distributed through Dakota 
The statisticians bade us write that the round num- 
ber to-day was nearly seven hundred thousand people. 
It is a population which exceeds the population of any 
other Territory. It is a population that exceeds the 



^4 South Dakota : 

population of Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, Colorado, 
Florida, Khode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, 
Nebraska, and probably West Virginia, Connecticut 
and Maine. We may count Dakota number twenty- 
two among the States and Territories, in respect to 
population. 

We visited these Dakota workmen. We met them 
in the field, in the home, in the shop, in the store. 
We traveled with them through the Territory. We 
examined their schools and institutions. We went 
into their churches. 

We used every opportunity to study the people and 
measure their worth. These people impressed us with 
their manliness, their intelligence, their energy, their 
thrift, their adaptability, their patriotism. 

It is an Anglo-Saxon host which greets us in South 
Dakota. When these young people get some infusion 
of other life, it is swiftly assimilated, so that the 
Anglo-Saxon spirit remains characteristic. And we 
Anglo-Saxon men are great sticklers for independency, 
right of representation, self-government, home rule. 
Is it a strange thing, is it a presumptuous thing, that 
these hundreds of thousands of educated, enterprising, 
patriotic men meet in general convocation and demand 
just recognition ? For five years have these people 
pressed their suit. Nevada, with her dwindling popu- 
lation of some 60,000 people, sends her representatives 
to Congress. Dakota, with her more than ten times 
larger population, knocks importunately at the door of 



Its Resources audits People. j'j' 

•Congress, and gets a gruff answer to her appeal. The 
people of the Territory we found terribly in earnest 
concerning this important matter. It is the supreme 
question of the hour. They meet in frequent assembly 
to discuss their course of action. Tradesmen meet. 
The learned professions meet. Farmers, bankers 
meet. They agitate this question of inalienable rights. 
We were profoundly moved by the intensity of feeling 
manifested. First it is one section of the Territory, 
then it is another section of the Territory, then it is the 
whole Territory convening with this same just end in 
view — the achievement of Statehood. All classes 
■chorus a great desire, urgency, passion, for Statehood. 
These people represent the thrift, the spirit, the man- 
hood, the worth of New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
New York, Indiana, and other States. These people 
pushed westward moved by that impulse of empire that 
seems native to the American heart. And the nation 
says to each loyal, ambitious citizen of this Territory, 
*' Thou shalt not vote." Do these people live in the great 
Republic ? Put that question to them when the tax- 
gatherer visits them. " Thou shalt not vote," says the 
nation, "but thou shalt pay thy taxes or be put up 
at auction." This is the condition in which a great 
host of Anglo-Saxon people, born freemen and suf 
fragists, live and suffer and struggle. 

We were quickened into sympathy with these peo- 
ple. They are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. They 
hold the interests of the Republic as most precious. 



S^ South Dakota : 

They flame with enthusiasm when national holidays 
remind them of great achievements. But they have a 
practical, personal waj of interpreting their own inter- 
ests. The continuance of Territorial rule signifies op- 
pression. Public affairs are conducted after a fashion 
that does scant justice to various sections and industries 
and interests. The people have no voice in deter- 
mining certain questions that pertain to their prosperity. 
When individuals are defrauded and when their rights 
are denied, we were told that any appeal to the courts 
was a matter of infinite patience and uncertain issue. 
There are six judges given to the whole Territory. 
Civil cases await trial 3^ear after year, so that men have 
learned that it was more profitable to suffer in silence 
than put their cause into court. 

The continuance of Territorial rule signifies misgov- 
ernment. Ofiicials are not responsible to the people. 
They do not represent the thought, purpose, spirit of 
the people. A citizen of Connecticut suddenly trans- 
ferred to California would not be competent to take 
charge of that great State and conduct its affairs ac- 
cording to the will and mind of its citizens. It requires 
residence, observation, experience to fit men for posi- 
tions of public trust. With the best intentions, men 
who are strangers to these Territorial conditions often 
make such mistakes that irreparable injury is done. 
That is the claim made by the citizens of Dakota — a 
claim that appears substantiated by their strong array 
of facts. 



Its Resources and its People. 57 

Continuance of Territorial rule signifies retardation. 
The Territory is hampered. What action the local 
Legislature may take is so restricted and curtailed by 
national law or official veto that the citizens have small 
opportunity to shape public affairs. The formative 
condition of Dakota suggests many matters that require 
wise delibcation and judicious adjustment. The citi- 
zens are compelled to adjourn the settlement of such 
matters. They have not the power or the opportunity 
to legislate for them. Any local expression of wish or 
purpose is quite likely to get faint recognition when it 
reaches the "powers that be." When we think how 
the innumerable details of self-government are left in 
this inchoate state, we are forced to confess that these 
people are miserably cramped by circumstances. 

The people first demand a division of the Territory. 
They are very strenuous concerning this matter. Divis- 
ion will gain them better government. The present 
capital is Bismarck. It is a long and tedious way from 
Yankton, Chamberlain, the Black Hills and other parts 
of the Territory. The business that is transacted at 
Bismark seems quite foreign to these distant sections. 
If any local matter presents itself, the people say that 
they are likely to fail in getting a just hearing. Their 
local interests are forgotten by the time they are trans- 
ported to the distant capital. There is a certain un- 
likeness between North Dakota and South Dakota 
which helps to jeopard each other's interests. Legisla- 
tion which favors the upper tier of counties may prove 



j<y South Dakota : 

quite harmful to the lower tier of counties, and vice 
versa. Legislation which is essential to the southeast 
may have no importance in the northwest. The Ter- 
ritory is vast, cumbrous, diversified as to interests, di- 
vided as to activities. Two States will solve the diffi- 
culty. Division is imperative. 

Division will g^ive them stronger government. The 
people are left to their own independent course con- 
cerning many affairs. They will find strength in co- 
operation. When the State takes public matters in 
hand, they move with the strength of the State behind 
them. The individual merges his share of help in the 
oneness of the body politic. Little opportunity then 
for that personal envy or opposition which is some- 
times observable when public improvements and enter- 
prises revert simply to individuals. The heartiness of 
general co-operation gives strength to expression of 
community and State life. The spirit of zealous self- 
help becomes universal. There is a vigor and impulse 
to public work that magnifies the worth of the 
State at the same time that it fosters and develops 
State power and influence. 

Division will give the|peoplea more just government. 
It is a wise thing for people to watch closely the men 
that perform public tasks. A government of the peo- 
ple, for the people, by the people, is the kind of gov- 
ernment that we Americans want. Such a govern- 
ment has justice as one great factor. But you do not 
find that sort of thing in ponderous Dakota. The peo- 



Ifs Resources and its People. jp 

pie want to govern themselves, and they want to do it 
on a scale, and after a method, suited to their con- 
dition. So thev demand a North Dakota and a South 
Dakota. The 7th Standard parallel has already been 
emphasized as a division line. North of it we find the 
University of North Dakota, south of it the University of 
South Dakota. In the north is a Normal School, in 
the south a Normal School. In the north they locate 
a penitentiary, in the south they locate a penitentiary. 
When the north has an insane asylum then the south 
must have an insane asylum. Division is declared by 
the election of the people, by the exigencies of circum- 
stances, by the characteristics of the two sections, by 
the demands of strict justice, by the events of the past 
fifteen years, by the laws of traffic and communication, 
by the organization and operation of political, educa- 
tional and religious associations. 

Statehood, therefore, means convenience of govern 
ment to the people of Dakota. We met delegates to 
a Territorial Convention as we journeyed through the 
country. They came long distances. They made just 
complaint. One delegate was obliged to travel one 
thousand miles in order to attend this meeting. Now 
people in the west are not critical in respect to miles. 
A trip of three hundred miles or five hundred miles is 
a mere jaunt; but when it comes to a one thousand 
mile journey for the purpose of transacting a little 
home business, these people point to the injustice and 
burdensomeness of the thing. Statehood means con- 



do South Dakota : 

venience to South Dakota. It means an accessible 
capital, a central State gov^ernment, a legislative 
body whose members shall hold vital communication 
with their constituents. There was a time when 
Rhode Island must have two capitals to accommodate 
her people. Dakota, containing well nigh one hundred 
and fifty times the number of acres put into Rhode 
Island, must satisfy herself with one capital. The 
Connecticut legislators can tarry at the capital in 
Hartford until Saturday afternoon at four o'clock: and 
then hie themselves home to spend Sunday with their 
families. Some of these Dakota legislators would be 
compelled to spend the large share of every week upon 
the railroad did they try to imitate the domestic ex- 
ample of their Connecticut brothers. People wish to 
hear their representatives make their great speeches. 
People occasionally wish to see those honorable bodies 
of citizens named the Assembly and the Senate. It 
does the farmer, the merchant, the preacher, the la- 
borer, the physician, the teacher good to come into 
contact with these men who represent our intelligence, 
wisdom, ability, merit. We eastern people make 
periodic visits to our capitals. We observe public 
proceedings with closest scrutiny. We approve or 
disapprove the course that legislators take with a frank- 
ness and a vigilance that insure us satisfactory legis- 
lion and sound, acceptable government. Our capitals 
are convenient They are next door to our numerous 
cities. And we reap great benefit from such nearness. 



Its Resources and its People. 6i 

Now South Dakota brethren feel the necessity for 
iust that nearness and neighborliness. They want their 
capital where they can visit it without making a 
journey of seven hundred or a thousand miles. They 
want their capital where they can enjoy the eloquence 
of their orators and observe the drift of affairs and- 
share the spirit of great occasions without too large 
an expenditure of time and money. A State govern- 
ment centrally located serves the people. Courts ade- 
•quate to the proper adjudication of causes — compe. 
tent, representative men who devote their time to the 
protection and encouragement of individual and State 
interests — they are a great convenience. Dakota de- 
mands such convenience. 

Statehood signifies economy. When the homes of 
the people are near to the government, the expenses of 
travel are insignificant. The people hold intimate rela- 
tions with their public officers and the machinery of State, 
and the cost of close association is comparatively small. 
It is a fact that two small States are governed at less 
expense than one large State. The same largje Terri- 
tory, divided into equal States, will have public affairs 
<jonducted with better economy. But the emphasis 
which men put upon this economic phase of the ques- 
tion is measured when it is observed that the people 
have little or nothing to say concerning taxation and 
expenditure. Strangers and pilgrims take these mat- 
ters in hand. As their personal interests are not in- 
volved, the public money cannot have the same mean- 



62 South Dakota : 

ing to them. The citizens of Dakota annually pay 
hundreds of thousands of dollars of internal revenue;- 
they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of postage ; 
and yet they are not permitted to say anything as to 
the spending of these taxes. " No taxation without 
representation !" Is not that the old-time cry of liber- 
tv-lovers? And yet here is a host of American citizens^ 
almost seven hundred thousand strong, sustaining such 
grievance and ignominy I These people support various 
public institutions. They support them loyally. They 
never grudge their dollars. Bat this money is distri- 
buted by men under Federal appointment. The peo- 
ple cannot designate any commissioner. The public 
schools of the Territory are famous. They will stamp 
Dakota with their own peculiar merit. These public 
schools, constantly increasing in number and expense, 
representing a cost of nearly $2,000,000 for 18S7, 
are supported by taxes levied upon the uncomplaining 
people, while millions of acres of land, assigned the 
Territory for the purposes of school support, lie idle 
and profitless, since the lands cannot be sold until 
Dakota gets admission into the sisterhood of States. 
Men can generally manage their own business better 
than any neighbor. It is safe to say that States know 
their own needs, and are competent to conduct their 
own affairs, better than any neighbor State. Dakota 
stands ready and solicitous to prove it. 

Statehood signifies multiplied prosperity. " We 
heard it iterated and reiterated that thousands and 



Its Resources and its People. 6j 

tens of thousands of people will make Dakota their 
home when Statehood is realized. There is a certain 
disgrace and discouragement in the present condition of 
things that influences many proud, ambitious people. 
This migration into political dependence, helplessness, 
disfranchisement, has features that annoy and harass 
the free-born, intelligent, patriotic, self-governed 
American citizen. A man makes a sacritice that is- 
something more than sentimental. It is sacrifice that 
means personal humiliation, political obliteration, na- 
tional exile. This is thoroughly un-American and re- 
pugnant. Nevertheless, thousands of our best citizens 
have submitted to this sort of thing. They have sub- 
mitted to it because they believed it a temporary con- 
dition. They have submitted to it because they put 
confidence in the national sense of justice and the na- 
tional pride of spirit. But these abused, neglected men 
now feel that Statehood is vital to their prosperity. 
They alone are competent to foster and interpret State 
interests. They alone comprehend the issues at stake. 
It is time that they had the full conduct of their own 
a£fairs. There are 23,000,000 acres of public land now 
subject to entry. The great Sioux reservation will 
prove fresh and powerful stimulus to immigration. 
It is important that Dakota choose her public servants, 
and elect her local servants, in order that the great 
task of shaping the people into a strong, cohesive, 
symmetrical body politic be thoroughly and perma- 
nently and satisfactorily achieved. 



64 South Dakota : 

Statehood will multiply prosperity. It is the testi- 
mony of business men. The State would speedily set- 
tle questions which concern the enlar2:ement of trade. 
Men refuse to peril fortune in great enterprises when 
the laws of the land do not afford them wise protection. 
Certain industries have not been planted in Dakota, 
because capitalists found the Territorial conditions un- 
favorable. Men who believe that South Dakota will 
gain admission as a State within the next few months 
are making expression of such confidence by the large 
investment of money. The opportunities for such in- 
vestments are rare and rich with promise. It just 
needs this one factor of State autonomy, when trade, 
immigration, capital, expansion will make such record 
as shall outstrip all recent, notable progress and give 
Dakota her merited eminence and power. Ireland is 
one-fifth the size of Dakota, and Gladstone says, " Give 
her home rule !" But Ireland does not easily affiliate 
with Great Britain, and Irish blood retains its character- 
istic tone and impulse. Dakota — the fair, great land — 
is peopled by our brothers. We are kinned by fam- 
ily relations, and social relations, and trade relations, 
and money relations, and Christian relations, and na- 
tional relations. Do we need some Gladstone to trav- 
erse this Republic and say, "Give her home rule?" 
Nay. Dakota will submit her righteous cause to the 
American people. 



CONCLUSION. 

The Dakota days stretch themselves through many 
hours. We did not rise early in the morning so that 
we could measure their length, but we were told it was 
daylight a little after two o'clock. The evenings have the 
sun's illuminations until eight o'clock or later, and we 
were able to read the newspaper at half-past nine o'clock 
without gas or lamp. The twilights, who can forget 
them ? They linger into the night and depart with 
such reluctance that we did not try to tarry upon their 
going. Nevertheless, the days were not long enough 
for us to see and to do the things which we had planned 
The company of friends, with all their liberal help and 
wise method and practical guide-work could not show 
us all the treasures and enterprises and institutions of 
South Dakota. But we gleaned wearilessly during the 
hurried weeks, and our loyal associates added their 
sheaves, so that we returned east with such harvest of 
facts as we present through these pages. We express 
hearty thanks to the Commissioner of Immigration, to 
various Territorial officials, to several College Presi- 
dents, to many bankers, real estate agents, merchants, 
farmers, railroad men, teachers, editors, laborers, com- 
mercial travelers, who gave us valuable information, 
and shared in showing us the land. 



•66 South Dakota : 

And now we turn ns toward the future. What 
prophecy do we find written in the narrative of South 
Dakota's achievement? The railroads have just begun 
their unique tasks. When Dakota has the railroad fa- 
cilities that serve Illinois (as have them she will), it will 
make 30,000 miles of iron service. The railroads are 
growing in all directions. One thousand miles per year 
is the estimate of a financier. That will soon increase. 
And this railroad expansion signifies the swift and 
thorough development of the country. Immigration 
is continuous and unprecedented. It disperses all 
through the Territorj^ The trains we saw doing a 
-constant work of distribution. But the great Sioux 
Reservation will prove fresh and powerful stimulus to 
■the regular and methodic plans of immigration. This 
Reservation, which will be opened for settlement in the 
autumn, containes more than 26,000,000 acres of excel- 
lent land. A part of this immense tract will speedily 
be subdued by the pioneer. It means an enormous in- 
flux of people. Then the east gets nearer to the west. 
Now that we have traversed this great interior, we ob- 
serve that it is quite nigh to our seaboard markets. 
Railroad transportation is quick and easy. Water 
transportation is cheap and serviceable. The staple 
farm products of the west compete successfully with 
the farm products of the east, and the west will certain- 
ly distance her competitors. This midland section of 
Jthe United States is a country that fosters all home- 
making. We journeyed through Kansas, Nebraska, 



Its Resources and its People. 6^ 

Iowa, Minnesota, and we were agreeably impressed 
with the home character of the people. Dakota, Ne- 
braska, Kansas, they make one affluent, illimitable, 
productive plain. Such farm possibilities run riot with 
the imagination. No class of men show better judgment 
and keener foresight than our bankers. They pro- 
nounce with unequivocal unanimity upon the destinies 
of this land. In 1880 Dakota had twenty-four banks. 
Their capital was stated as $513,579. In 1887 the 
banks had multiplied into two hundred and niiity-nine 
with a capital and surplus of $8,142,587. Add to this 
the business of fifty-one loan and mortgage companies 
and there is shown a capital of $11,293,981. Dakota 
has more banks than twenty-eight of the States. These 
institutions transact a business that witnesses to the 
thrifty, workful, enterprising character of all concerned. 
The investment of eastern capital in South Dakota 
proves very lucrative and satisfactory to the investor 
*' Never was the confidence of the money men of the 
east more solid," says Theodore Koosevelt. At the same 
time this money is good servant to the people in the work 
of improvement and expansion. As we think upon the 
promise and destiny of this fine portion of the Repub- 
lic, we share the great assurance of the people. A 
prosperous, majestic commonwealth is the inevitable 
issue of the years. The self-denial, discomfort, struggle 
of land conquest will be ended, and the splendid re- 
wards of an opulent and cultivated country may make 
bountiful compensation for all labor and investment. 



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